Wonderful Water
Water is not just an ideal thirst quencher, it’s a healthy drink option and profit generator too! The £1.38bn UK bottled water category has grown 6% year on year, and analysts predict a further increase of 8% in the next three years.
Calorie-free and an essential for a healthy body, it’s an ever popular tipple – and one to encourage your customers to order, not just now, but throughout the year.
“Bottled water is now one of the leading growth categories in soft drinks, including in the on-trade,” says Simon Oldham, sales and marketing director of the Highland Spring Group. “While still water holds the lion’s share of the total bottled water market, sparkling accounts for a bigger proportion in the on-trade as people view it as something a little bit special on a night out. It provides outlets with an effective way to boost sales per customer by offering water as a ‘spacer’ to be consumed between alcoholic drinks.”
With consumers going out less, trends show that when they do they are spending more and tend to capitalise on being out for a “treat”. On-trade establishments can make the most of this move towards premiumisation by stocking well-known brands that consumers instantly recognise
and trust. They can also drive revenue by offering sparkling water mocktails – catering for customers who want both the healthy option and something more sophisticated than ‘ice and a slice’.
How to serve
“We would always recommend serving bottled water with food – it’s about making water a premium part of the dining experience,” adds Simon Oldham. “When consumers are served bottled water from Highland Spring Group they know that it is reaching them exactly as nature intended from our carefully managed natural sources.”
Health benefits
The post-festive period when customers are looking for ways to get healthier is a great time to promote the benefits of drinking water to consumers. “As the only product with no calories, no sugar, no preservatives and no additives, naturally sourced bottled water is currently benefitting from the healthy living trend,” adds Simon.
